Sudha Nair's Blog

Should you write every day?

Before we begin, let’s clarify something.

When you are working on a writing project, writing every day or writing as many days in a week as possible is the ONLY way you’ll get through your project quicker and more efficiently.

You won’t get through a writing project if you write sporadically or whenever you feel like it.

The more you procrastinate or delay your writing, the longer it will take to finish your book project.

And the worse it will be to sustain the effort of keeping your motivation and spirits high and actually getting your book finished.

Before we assess the pros and cons of daily writing, let’s go deeper and see what writing every day looks like.

And do you have to write every day?

Do You Have To Write Every Day?

Writing Time

 

The first thing that daily writing entails is having to set aside the time to write.

To finish something properly, you need to set aside time to do the work that’s required.

Because let’s face it, writing a book does not involve only writing. There are many, many steps to writing a book.

There’s also planning, research, outlining, writing, editing, publishing, etc.

 

Writing Routine

 

The idea of having a writing routine every day makes more sense if your ultimate aim is actually to finish a writing project, like a book.

What I have done for many years is kept aside a couple of hours every morning as part of my writing day.

Those two hours went towards all activities related to the book including writing, editing, and publishing because I only had two hours to spare every day.

With that little time, I could write over 12 books in the last three to four years.

It was only possible because I kept to a writing schedule every single day.

A writing routine gives you the time you need to set aside to finish your work.

 

Flow Of Writing

 

More than anything, daily writing gives you the FLOW.

Writing becomes easier. It’s like building muscle.

You also don’t require external motivation to sit down and write when you set some things into motion, like making yourself a cup of coffee and going to your desk.

You know that your writing time has begun.

In that sense, writing daily helps you get a lot of work done.

Say you write a blog post every day.

Writing every day would make it very easy to continue it for the long term and produce consistent work.

It helps create a productive workflow for yourself.

It gives you consistency, productivity, and reliance on your flow to produce more work.

 

Competency In Writing

 

Writing every day can also provide a lot of benefits such as improving your language, improving the flow of words, improving the quality of your writing and so on.

Writing every day has such great benefits that I would advise it even if you weren’t working actively on a book project.

Use that time to improve your writing using a technique called CopyWork, which I’ve discussed in an earlier blog post.

You subconsciously pick up different writing styles and different writing techniques from great writers which help you improve your own writing.

Set aside 15-20 minutes every day to work on improving your craft even if you are not writing fresh words every single day.

 

Cons Of Daily Writing Practice

 

Whichever way you look at it, writing every day does give you a lot of benefits, but here is what could go wrong.

If a skipped day becomes a means to beat yourself up or berate yourself, you’ve just undone all the good work.

Do NOT punish yourself for not writing every day.

From my personal experience when I had just started writing, when I missed a day or something happened to disrupt my routine, or I had to skip a day of writing, I used to feel really bad about myself.

But, you don’t have to.

Cut yourself a break if it’s impossible to write on a particular day or if you can’t write more than 4-5 days a week.

I think that practical challenges are important to take into consideration for daily writing goals.

 

Conclusion

 

We talked about some ways to include writing into your life every single day to enjoy the flow of creativity and the process without giving yourself a hard time.

Remember, there are no hard and fast rules that say you must write every day.

Use your time and energy wisely to produce the best results in your writing journey.

And don’t forget to have a little fun along the way.

Also, don’t forget to celebrate those small victories.

Writing every day can be a huge mood booster, and it doesn’t have to be hard or painful if you’re not able to do it every day.

 

If you’d like to listen to this blog post, check out my YouTube video:

  You can find all my books here at  BOOKS .

 

 

Other Useful Book Recommendations:

 

If you’re feeling lost in the creative world and want to get your creative mojo back,

Check out Steal like an artist

 

If you’re just starting out and struggling to find your creative voice,

Check out: Find your Artistic Voice 

 

If you’re looking for inspiration and to discover and recover your creative self,

Check out The Artist’s Way 

 

For more inspiration and encouragement to write your best writing ever,

Check out Writing Down The Bones 

 

 

I’d love to hear if you found this post useful!

You can write to me at sudha@sudhanair.com

 

The post Do You Have To Write Every Day? appeared first on SUDHA NAIR.

Familiar with being stuck as you’re writing a book?

Feeling like you can’t seem to get unstuck?

It’s very common to get stuck many times in your writing projects.

Whether you’re stuck at a chapter, plot point, or the climax, things can really spiral into a loop when you can’t find a solution.

Not having a solution to your writing problem can be really frustrating and it can keep you blocked and stuck for many days until you do something about it.

So, what do you do when faced with a writing problem?

I’m going to share four tips to help you act quickly to stop the spinning thoughts that keep you stuck, and get moving again.

 

Are spinning thoughts sabotaging your writing?

 

Tip #1: Walk away

 

Walk away from the problem for a little bit.

Get some movement.

It could be exercise.

It could be going for a long walk.

It could even be something relaxing like a shower.

You know how Archimedes found his Eureka moment in his bathtub?

You can do anything that takes you away from the problem and lets you brain think about it while you’re NOT focusing on it.

But it’s important not to be hard on yourself at this time.

Give yourself a break.

Don’t force a solution…

The solution is very likely to come…

When you’re not thinking about the problem at all.

Or when you’re doing something completely different.

 

Tip #2: What-ifs?

 

Pick “What-if” scenarios for your problem and write them down.

Come up with 10-15 different ways to solve your problem.

I recomment using a pen and paper and writing down at least 10-15 ideas as quickly as you can without censoring anything.

The more solutions you can come up with, even if they sound really random, the closer you will be to finding a great solution.

Don’t stop even if you can’t go on!

Don’t reject or criticise any of the ideas you come up with.

Just let every idea, even the most ridiculous ones, flow onto the page freely.

Think out of the box!

As you go further and further down the list of ideas, something may come up that is really useful and it can help you solve your problem.

 

Tip #3: Brainstorm your idea

 

A great way to get unstuck is to brainstorm your writing problem with a friend.

Sometimes, talking to somebody else about your problem can spark an inspiration, or it can help really figure out your problem and give you a better perspective on how to solve it.

 

Tip #4: Pick any idea

 

One way to look at the solution is to pick any idea, even if does not sound great.

The not-so-great idea may look cliche to you, but it doesn’t matter.

Just know that you can pick even a cliche idea, give it a tweak or a fresh twist, and make it shine.

You can work with any sort of idea.

Even if it doesn’t seem ideal or perfect to you, just go with it.

Give yourself permission to pick an idea that simply helps get unstuck and gets you moving on your project.

You’ll figure out something on the way.

 

Bonus Tip: Write down what worked

 

Once you’ve figured out how you solved your problem or which tip worked for you, write it down so that you can use it the next time you have a problem.

Use it as your go-to solution to solve your spinning thoughts.

Just knowing what helps you get unstuck immediately can help you act quickly instead of spiralling into thoughts that keep you stuck forever.

 

Summary

 

So, whether it is brainstorming with a friend, or moving your body. Or, if it’s making a list of ideas or running away with an idea, use these tips to help you.

I hope these few, simple hacks help you get unstuck and get moving again.

 

To hear these tips, check out my YouTube video:

You can find all my books here at  BOOKS .

 

I’d love to hear if you found this article useful!

You can write to me at sudha@sudhanair.com

 

 

 

 

The post 4 Ways To Stop The Spinning Thoughts When Writing appeared first on SUDHA NAIR.

Are too many book ideas pulling you in all directions? Does it make you freeze and not be able to write anything at all?

It’s common to get overwhelmed by too many ideas to the point where you can’t work on any of them. You may experience FOMO, the fear of missing out on other ideas if you pick one of them. Or, you may be confused as to which idea you should pick.

The result?

Nothing gets written at all.

Sound familiar?

Too many book ideas can leave us feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.

What we need is to balance this issue by making smart choices so that we get to start working with a book idea instead of going around in circles and never getting anything done.

Here are four ways to tackle the problem of having too many book ideas that drive us insane and don’t allow us to focus on any of them.

Are you ready?

 

Too many book ideas?

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases if you use my links at no extra cost to you.

 

Tip #1: Write the idea down

 

Get the idea out of your brain and onto a sheet of paper or your device.

This is the most important step, which many of us don’t do because we think we can hold all these ideas in our head but we’re so wrong.

When you write these ideas on a piece of paper, two things happen. One, you know, you always have these ideas. You’re not going to miss any of them. They’ll always be there. You can always refer to them whenever you want. And two, you give your brain a break from having to remember these things, when there are so many other things you got to do. So put those ideas down on a piece of paper.

 

Tip #2: Combine or split ideas

 

Say you have five ideas written down on a piece of paper. You would combine two ideas if they are very similar to one another.

For example, combining two stories with a similar plot could get you a longer or more solid story rather than writing them as two books.

On the other hand, say if you’re writing a nonfiction book, for example, and you’ve crammed it with too many ideas, you can probably split it up into two books so that you’re not giving your reader too much. Rather you’re giving your reader crisp, compact information that’s easy to bite on and that they can really get the maximum benefit out of.

So these are two ways you can work with your ideas once they are down on paper.

 

Tip #3: Ensure you have a solid idea

 

Check out which book idea has a really solid idea that can carry through the length of the book.

To do this, I recommend you write down a short outline for all the ideas that you have on your paper. Write down a couple of lines for the beginning, middle, and end. Or if you’re writing a nonfiction book, write down what the chapters are going to be in one word or one line.

It helps to see which of these ideas holds the most meat and the most value so that it really can be translated into a book.

 

Tip #4: Let the idea speak to your heart

 

Go with the idea that is calling you the loudest. This seems counterintuitive because sometimes we allow our brains to do all the work. And we discard what the heart is telling us by saying things like – The idea is too simple or nobody is going to like this idea.

If you are called to work on an idea, then you listen to your heart, ignore your brain, and work on the idea that’s calling you the loudest.

 

Bonus Tip: What’s easy?

 

Go for the idea that feels easy.

Again, this is something we do not do because we think everything has to be hard. Your stories don’t have to be hard. They can be easy and even if you think that it feels too easy to be true, work on the idea that’s easy because what ends up happening is that you get more practice, you get more confident and you actually start moving forward and making progress.

 

Sounds simple and easy?

These simple tips will help get you out of the analysis paralysis mode and get you unstuck. They’ll get you moving forward so that you can finally relax and just work on the idea that’s really calling to you while also knowing that all your other ideas are waiting and you can get back to them at any time.

 

 

Book Resources for you:

 

Leading you to a path of success and fulfilment by searching for and finding your whys:

Find Your Why BUY FROM AMAZON.IN

 

How to eliminate distractions and focus on the one thing that is the most important at this time:

The One Thing BUY FROM AMAZON.IN

 

Finding one’s purpose in life and the keys to lasting happiness:

Life’s Amazing Secrets BUY FROM AMAZON.IN

 

Practical tips for everyday well-being and making happiness an integral part of your life:

Happiness Express BUY FROM AMAZON.IN

 

Get rid of debilitating behaviours that will sabotage your goals:

Deep Work BUY FROM AMAZON.IN

 

A habit developed the right way goes a long way in achieving a lot more than you can imagine:

Atomic Habits BUY FROM AMAZON.IN 

 

You can find all my books here at BOOKS.

 

I’d love to hear from you if you found this article useful!

You can write to me at sudha@sudhanair.com

 

 

 

 

The post Too many book ideas? – Four tips to stay sane appeared first on SUDHA NAIR.

Inner motivation is the desire to do something that comes from deep within and is magnetized into action without the aid of external factors.

True inner motivation helps you enjoy what you do every step of the way without feeling forced or restrained into doing something that you don’t want to do.

I think we all know we should be doing more, we know we spend too much time putting things off, but oftentimes, getting cracking on the tasks we need to finish, feels very daunting. And the very thought of getting to it and doing more makes us not want to do it.

While there is no real code for achieving inner motivation, I strongly believe that in order to excel at something or get better at it, you first need to understand it.

 

Types of motivation

 

There are two types of motivation – extrinsic and intrinsic.

Extrinsic motivation comes from the outside. When there’s the external pressure to complete something because your boss asks you to do it or if not doing it would not allow you to pass your exams, that is called extrinsic motivation.

Most extrinsic motivation cannot be sustained or falls away when there is no external pressure or value in doing those tasks.

As life gets busier doing things,  the joy of doing the things that we need to finish diminishes and we’re left with a sense of lethargy, disappointment, and the fear of never getting it done.

We may suffer from a lack of intrinsic motivation when we postpone and procrastinate because we may not see the value in completing it or we don’t feel the joy while doing it.

On the other hand, intrinsic motivation is the joy in doing something you love, enjoy, and find fulfilling. It doesn’t need external factors to motivate you.

One of the advantages of finding intrinsic motivation is that you get more done in less time and it actually gets to be enjoyable and not like a chore.

When you are truly motivated,  you are energized.

Inner motivation fires up your imagination and stimulates your mind.

One thing I noticed was that my writing became much better when I felt truly motivated because I was able to bring energy and enthusiasm into my work and be more effective.

Essentially when you’re intrinsically motivated to do something and have the desire to do more, it can make a radical difference in your life.

You may not notice the effects of it in the day-to-day but true progress is the result of the cumulative steps taken to reach your goals.

If you’ve come so far, ask yourself these questions:

Have you wished to know the secret to true inner motivation?

Have you felt like you’ve lost the drive to do something?

Have you felt like giving up?

A lack of inner motivation can look like being stuck in the head, fear of negative outcomes, unable to feel inspired, and unable to take the action that needs to be taken.

Are you looking for ways to guide inner motivation to produce the outcome you want with the least amount of effort and in the least amount of time?

Here are some of the best ways to get back to a strong sense of inner motivation if you’ve steered really far away from it:

 

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases if you use my links at no extra cost to you.

 

1. Do the things you like to do

 

Lean into the things that interest and excite you.

When you try to do something but your heart is set on something else, you lack the inner drive to do the task that you’re meant to do.

While we cannot always get to do only the things we like, it is important to keep aside some time every day to do the things we enjoy and that bring us joy.

If we are only focused on doing the things that seem like a chore, it is no wonder that we don’t feel motivated to do anything at all.

You may also have once felt the inner motivation to do something and then lost it as time went on. That’s when we move on to the next steps.

 

2. Focus on your Why

 

Why you do something is very important to realise and recognise.

How important is doing this for you? 

If you seem to have lost interest in something, remind yourself of why you started doing it in the first place.

Many times, just remembering your purpose and coming back to the “Why” periodically will ignite the spark of motivation in you.

 

3. Reward the small things

 

Every task completed should be rewarded. 

Don’t wait for big moments.

Don’t wait for everything to be completed before you reward yourself for the little things you get accomplished.

Let’s not wait until the end to celebrate our victories.

Celebrate each little moment that takes you closer to your goals.

Those small rewards every step of the way will spur you on to accomplish more.

Some people are motivated by “the stick” rather than “the carrot.” So, maybe denying yourself something if you haven’t completed a task may be the kind of motivation you need.

However, I would encourage you to stick to rewards rather than punishment. We should raise our awareness and self-esteem without putting ourselves down for not accomplishing our goals.

 

4. Commit to your tasks

 

Give yourself time to dream and brainstorm when you are working on a task. 

Have an accountability partner who will support you as you navigate the sometimes long path that you have to take to accomplish what you set out to do.

When you commit to your task every day and look at it from a bird’s eye view, a lot of niggles will fall away and you will find yourself re-committed to your tasks.

 

5. Be in Gratitude

 

Say a prayer of gratitude every night for whatever you’ve accomplished throughout the day.

I can’t emphasize enough how gratitude plays a bigger role in accomplishing anything and pushing through your tasks. 

By being grateful, we allow our energies to flow through to our task the next day and the next, instead of being stuck in a loop of negativity, shame, and guilt.

 

6. Review your plans and goals

 

Review your goals to understand if you still want to do what you set out to do, and why is it still important to you.

Periodically reviewing your goals will give you more clarity and purpose to raise your motivation.

 

7. Give yourself permission to walk away

 

After all the steps above, allow your motivation to be a choice rather than an obligation. Don’t be a slave to your tasks. 

Acknowledge that you have the choice of not going after a task.

You don’t have to pursue it if it doesn’t feel right.

While this is easier said than done, especially if it’s a paying job, consider it as a sign to change if you’re constantly unhappy with what you’re doing.

Ask if this is the right thing for you.

While I’m not asking you to throw your job away to pursue an artist’s life, consider if you can add something that’s more meaningful to your life.

It could be something you can’t wait to get back to after you’re done with your daily paying tasks.

It could be something that can be sustained with the help of your regular job and that can be your extrinsic motivation to energise you and goad you on.

Recommit to and choose your tasks fully each day.

And if it really feels like a burden, think about what changes you can bring to your life to make your life more meaningful.

 

8. Acknowledge the duality within you

 

No one is perfect.

We are full of duality. 

We are lazy as well as super achievers. 

We could be organised as well as haphazard. 

Stupid as well as brilliant.

You’ll always have both sides.

Accept who you are.  

Accept both sides of you. You are human. 

Shine both your light and dark and trust the moments of fear, anger, loss of faith that are an integral part of your humanity.

Free yourself from hiding your flaws so you don’t have to pretend.

Whatever you choose to do, is a contract between you and the task you set out to do.

Honour and love it for being in your life and dedicate yourself fully to seeing it accomplished.

 

Summary:

 

True inner motivation comes from self-awareness, an understanding of yourself and your flaws, and the ability to re-commit and realign to everything that’s going on in your life.

Life happens and things can come in between your life and your tasks.

But, if we remain cognizant of how we’re spending our time, if we reward ourselves suitably, give ourselves the time and space to do the things we enjoy as much as the things we have to do, we can find a balance that will automatically bring an inner motivation to accomplish everything that needs to be done.

Finally, remember to ask for ease as you navigate your life. You can always do something with ease or make it all a struggle.

The choice is yours!

 

Book Resources for you:

 

Leading you to a path of success and fulfilment by searching for and finding your whys:

Find Your Why BUY FROM AMAZON.IN

 

How to eliminate distractions and focus on the one thing that is the most important at this time:

The One Thing BUY FROM AMAZON.IN

 

Finding one’s purpose in life and the keys to lasting happiness:

Life’s Amazing Secrets BUY FROM AMAZON.IN

 

Practical tips for everyday well-being and making happiness an integral part of your life:

Happiness Express BUY FROM AMAZON.IN

 

Get rid of debilitating behaviours that will sabotage your goals:

Deep Work BUY FROM AMAZON.IN | AMAZON.COM

 

A habit developed the right way goes a long way in achieving a lot more than you can imagine:

Atomic Habits BUY FROM AMAZON.IN | AMAZON.COM

 

You can find all my books here at BOOKS.

 

I’d love to hear from you if you found this article useful!

You can write to me at sudha@sudhanair.com

 

 

The post The Secret To Inner Motivation: Finding true joy and peace appeared first on SUDHA NAIR.

An effective writing process helps you write faster, more efficiently, and helps close your writing projects with the least amount of resistance or procrastination.

Let’s dig into why you need an effective writing practice as well as five ways to quickly boost your writing to ensure that you’re on track and keep yourself motivated at all times.

Imagine this…

You haven’t written a word but have been thinking about writing for a long time.

You join writing classes but you can’t seem to start and the very thought of writing is daunting.

You’re paralysed as you stare at the blank page.

You go on a learning spree but haven’t been able to implement any of your learning towards your writing project.

Does this sound like you?

Not only do you need a writing process but you need an effective one that ensures that you write daily with the least amount of effort, spend the least amount of time procrastinating, and ensure that the writing is good and you are making progress.

For me, having a writing process that was efficient and stood the test of time meant that I would keep at it for longer without burnout or frustration.

When I started writing about a decade ago, I wrote short stories for an online literary magazine. The word count was just 1200 words. A prompt was provided every month and the story had to be submitted within 20 days.

Although it took some years to develop an effective writing process, writing every day as efficiently as possible proved invaluable in finishing the writing projects that I started.

I’m here to throw some light on how to quickly boost your writing, what an effective writing process looks like, and what its benefits are.

I invite you to try some of these tips to help you finish your next book or blog.

 

Five ways to boost your writing

This post contains links to the Amazon affiliate program. I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.

 

1. Become Efficient:

 

Efficiency doesn’t happen overnight. It comes with slow and diligent practice.

There are no shortcuts unless you’re a genius, to begin with. Even then, I think, some good practices go a long way.

Learn and then utilize the learning in your writing. That’s one of the most efficient ways to up your writing game.

Ever wondered what to do if you’re stuck at a scene?

Keep writing and practice what you learn as you write. It enhances your writing as well as makes you improve over time. 

Don’t overthink it. You can edit whatever you write in the next round.

Remember: “You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.”

 

2. Improve Speed:

 

Improved speed comes with practice.

When you write daily you build your writing muscle to produce work quickly and with the least amount of effort.

Early on in my writing career, I would spend hours agonising over sentence formations, dialogues, and scenes.

But as I spent more time writing, those worries and anxieties about whether I was getting my writing done right disappeared.

In place of slow and awkward writing, I developed better speed and was able to trust myself to write more in less time.

My writing improved as time went by.

 

3. Get On The Path of Least Resistance:

 

This follows the above two steps of speed and efficiency. When you have written enough that you are confident of your abilities, you reduce decision fatigue.

If your writing process has a routine then you will go to your desk at the stipulated time and just write.

It’s better to be done with your writing quota first thing in the morning as it reduces your decision fatigue about what to write, when to write, where to write, and other concerns that become harder to tackle later on in the day.

Making writing a part of your normal routine avoids energy leaks and drained will power, and keeps you feeling productive every single day.

 

4. Go For Completion:

 

When you use a writing process daily, you also complete projects rather than dilly-dally over them.

A sense of completion offers relief as well as the confidence to do it again and again.

Learn to finish what you start.

Remember, done is better than perfect. Try to complete your project instead of dragging it on.

 

5. Get Things Moving:

 

After finishing your project, get it edited and then submit it for publishing. Don’t let a book or project stagnate for long.

By keeping the wheels of the writing process churning smoothly, you’ll feel more enthusiastic and energized to start the next project.

Author Lawrence Block said, “If I hadn’t been submitting things, if I hadn’t been trying to get into print, I’m not sure I’d have kept writing. I suppose the whole process helped me to take myself and my ambitions seriously.”

 

To sum up, ineffective practices lead to struggles in writing and completing writing projects.

Write daily, consistently, at the same time and place, if possible, so that you reach your flow state quickly.

The words flow more easily and before you know it, you reach the quota for the day and you’re done.

Work your learnings into your writing as you go along, and don’t stop until you finish.

Remember, writing just 1 page a day amounts to 365 pages a year.

That’s quite an achievement when you’re consistent and practical.

Hope these 5 tips help you in boosting your writing and ensure that your process is effective and working for you.

 

If you’d like to reach out to me, you can find me at sudha@sudhanair.com

 

Book Resources for you:

Ralph Keyes talks of the inner and outer struggles, fears, and anxieties of writers, and how to capitalize on them.

The Courage To Write BUY FROM AMAZON.IN | AMAZON.COM

James Scott Bell brings you a book with great tips on the right attitude and practices that will help in producing better outputs.

The Mental Game Of Writing BUY FROM AMAZON.IN | AMAZON.COM

Malcolm Gladwell’s thought-provoking book will change the way you think about your life story and what makes us all unique. It’s here that he puts forth the 10,000-Hour Rule that is required for success. Check it out.

Outliers BUY FROM AMAZON.IN | AMAZON.COM

 

 

 

The post 5 WAYS TO BOOST YOUR WRITING appeared first on SUDHA NAIR.

As writers, we face some of our worst fears when it comes to writing. 

Fear is a fight-or-flight response, a negative sensation, or a panic reaction induced by the perception of threat.

Studies indicate that we’re born with only two fears: the fear of loud noises and the fear of falling.

All the rest are acquired from events from the past that we’ve associated with danger. Or the possibility of something going wrong in the future that we’ve determined will be too difficult to handle.

As writers, we do realise that our fears are not about survival. There is no danger lurking around in the background. They are no Velociraptors out there waiting to kill us.

Yet, we cannot make the fears go away.

They stop us in our tracks, refuse to let us create, and crush our dreams.

Fears are totally detrimental to our creative lives.

In this blog, we’ll look at some of these fears, how they affect us, and how to deal with them.

When we learn to identify and acknowledge our fears, learn to navigate them and mitigate them through action, we can achieve some breakthroughs that can really allow our creative lives to thrive.

Most of us obsess about something that’s out of our control because that’s easier to do than actually create something.

But, creativity thrives on action, not inaction.

So, the more we put into action, the more steps we take towards our goals, the more these fears can fall away and allow us to have the calmness and the ability to deal with them.

Some of these fears stem from our childhood. We may have been told as children that we can’t do anything or that we’re not gifted or talented or that being an artist is a waste of time because it doesn’t pay the bills, it doesn’t secure our future.

You may have believed these lies because you grew up thinking that the people who told you these things loved you and wanted the best for you.

But sadly, you’ve also let these lies squash the writer within you and let him die

Worse, you’ve developed fears that can crush your desires and your childhood dreams to become whatever you wanted to be.

Instead, what if we wrote all those fears down on a page?

Asked ourselves what we would gain by not doing the work?

Make a deal to do it anyway by taking care of the quantity and leaving aside thoughts of the quality.

What if we learnt to work with what we have rather than languishing over what we have not?

Let’s do a deep dive into the fears afflicting writers and how to overcome them.

 

How to overcome the fear of writing

This post contains links to the Amazon affiliate program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

1. Fear of inadequacy

 

The niggling feeling of lack or not being gifted/talented enough or plain old “I’m not good enough” afflicts all writers at all stages, and at some point or the other no matter how many books they’ve written.

You always believe that you can never be the kind of writer that you admire.

Some of these fears could have come from being ignored in childhood or having your artistic urges suppressed.

You may have been made to believe that a career in arts is outside the social and economic reality of your family. Or, writing doesn’t pay the bills.

Sometimes, you may feel like an imposter. You feel vulnerable and insecure.

Whether you believe you’re talented or not, remember that talent is only a small part of any craft.

Writing can be taught.

Most writers are also plain hard workers. They have put in hours and hours of practice, none of which is visible to someone looking at them from the outside.

 

Steps you can take to overcome the fear of inadequacy

 

Protect that child-like artist within. Nurture that child.

Take baby steps.

Stop judging your early efforts and think of it as marathon training.

Let it be awkward, embarrassing, intimidating at first. Be willing to be a bad writer.

Uncover all your negative beliefs and fears related to writing by listing them down on a piece of paper. Then flip them around into positive beliefs or affirmations that will strengthen your purpose.

Positive self-talk will slowly but surely pull you out of your negative beliefs.

Well-known author, Malcolm Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours of practice and that the 10,000-Hour Rule is the key to achieving success and world-class expertise in any skill.

So, practice, practice, practice. There are no shortcuts to learning and improving your writing.

Let nobody brainwash you into believing that you can’t write or don’t have the talent.

 

2. Fear of the Unknown

 

Do you feel that you don’t have anything to say?

Or, do you freeze when you see a blank page?

Not knowing how to start or what to say is the fear that causes writer’s block.

If you believe that you have nothing to say or your book is not original enough, then that can cripple you into never starting at all.

You then avoid doing anything or procrastinate because you’ve pre-determined a negative outcome. You feel blocked.

One of the reasons for having this fear could be perfectionism or trying to always get it right.

Or thinking that somebody else has the advantage or has the opportunities that you don’t.

Then, you lose trust in yourself and your abilities.

You let yourself think of the impossible task looming ahead of you and it overwhelms you so much that you put it off rather than taking it on.

 

Steps you can take to overcome the fear of the unknown

 

Changing your perspective can change your problem. It’s like flipping a switch.

Every end is also a new beginning, isn’t it?

Focus on what lies just ahead and do it anyway.

The key to resiliency is self-empowerment and choice.

Take action.

A page that has words on it is easier to deal with than a blank page. So, fill up a blank page with words that come to mind.

Write down the very idea that you’re afraid of writing.

Who cares if it’s an original idea or not! It’s your perspective on the idea that matters. That is unique only to you.

James Scott Bell says, “Channel your anxiety by writing something you were afraid of writing before.”

Sometimes, I write badly and I let it be.

Let creativity be its own reward. 

Let it not stop you from creating because you’re not yet perfect. You will never be that!

 

3. Fear of Judgement

 

Judgement by others or self can be the greatest roadblock when it comes to writing.

Self-doubt and the feeling that your book is not good enough can make it feel like the writing is not worth it.

You let your fears get the better of you and never try.

You fear ridicule, you put yourself down and doubt yourself.

Perhaps, others have told you that what you do is a waste of time.

Or, your loved ones tell you they need you for more important things.

Or, that you have more important things to do than be frivolous and do something you enjoy.

 

Steps you can take to overcome the fear of judgement

 

Remember all you need to do is to show up on the page.

Set small and gentle goals.

Your job is to do the work and not judge it.

Put yourself before others and not let others be the judge for what’s important and fulfilling to you.

When faced with judgement or doubt, take one action to support you as a writer.

 

4. Fear of Rejection

 

There are times when we fear rejection or criticism.

Failure or success becomes a barometer for the value in life.

You feel hopeless, limited, guilty that you will never be good enough.

Shame kicks in when you read a negative review or you feel so angry that you want to give up.

You wonder why you put yourself through the torture or inflicted the torment on yourself.

 

Steps you can take to overcome the fear of rejection

 

Learn what criticism is appropriate and from whom.

Remember that you can’t please everyone.

Harry Potter was rejected 12 times before it finally got published.

If the criticism is not constructive, you can’t learn from it. So, ignore it.

If it is useless, a personal attack, or a blanket/general criticism, it cannot help you improve.

Receive it and get over it.

Do something nurturing for yourself afterwards.

Get back on the horse.

Creativity is the cure for a broken heart.

Write a letter to your critic that you do not mail but you pour out why you disagree with their thoughts. 

Let it get out of your system and then move on. 

Focusing only on fame or success creates a continual feeling of lack. 

It erodes the joy of what we have now, discredits our accomplishments, and eats away at our joy at another’s accomplishments. 

Surround yourself with people who will nurture and support you, cheer you on.

 

To sum up, being aware that you have a fear of writing is half the battle won.

 

Fears can be conscious or unconscious but by identifying and acknowledging them, we pave the way to take the steps necessary to conquer them.

When you feel fear, identify what it is. Acknowledge it.

Then ask, what action can I take right now or at this moment, this day, this month, this year, to move closer to my dreams?

What would you write if you knew you’d never fail?

If you’d like to reach out to me, you can find me at sudha@sudhanair.com

 

Book Resources for you:

 

Ralph Keyes talks of the inner and outer struggles, fears, and anxieties of writers, and how to capitalize on them.

The Courage To Write BUY FROM AMAZON.IN | AMAZON.COM

 

James Scott Bell brings you a book with great tips on the right attitude and practices that will help in producing better outputs.

The Mental Game Of Writing BUY FROM AMAZON.IN | AMAZON.COM

 

Malcolm Gladwell’s thought-provoking book will change the way you think about your life story and what makes us all unique. It’s here that he puts forth the 10,000-Hour Rule that is required for success. Check it out.

Outliers BUY FROM AMAZON.IN | AMAZON.COM

 

 

 

The post HOW TO OVERCOME THE FEAR OF WRITING appeared first on SUDHA NAIR.

Consistent writing practice is one in which you not only make writing a daily habit but also find joy and fulfillment as you do.

In this blog, I discuss the process that closes the final gap in the process of creating a daily writing practice.

This is Part 3 of the daily writing practice series.

In Part 1, we talked about finding a personal word count. In Part 2, we worked on scheduling your writing time.

Here, we try to answer some very important questions – 

How do you keep up with the writing practice?

How do you know what to write?

How do you NOT stare at a blank page during your writing time?

 

As I’ve said before, writing time is not thinking time.

Writing time is sacred time.

Do you spend your writing time thinking about what to write or ruminating about what your characters need to do, without getting any real writing done?

Do you see blocks of your writing time go waste as you stare at the blank page?

If you answered yes to any or both of these questions, then you know what I’m talking about.

Here, I discuss the creative process called incubation that works behind the scenes and gets a lot done when you’re not actually writing.

 

How to develop a consistent writing routine – Part 3

This post contains links to the Amazon affiliate program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

What is story incubation?

 

Every creative project juggles a lot of ideas that need incubation time.

Incubation time is the time you need to think about ideas, solve problems, and receive answers to the plot questions you may have.

It is the time you fill up your well.

It is the time to ruminate over what you’re working on and to think about what you’re going to write about next.

 

Where do you find story incubation time?

 

Incubation time can be scheduled just like your writing time.

As you’re doing routine work throughout the day like cooking, driving, or going for a walk, think about your writing.

What will happen next in the story?

How will you write the next scene?

What will the conflict in the scene be?

I recommend making the incubation of your writing process a daily practice too because it feeds into the first two parts of making writing a daily practice and produces an uninterrupted flow of ideas and words that will keep your writing going without a break.

 

Two ways to incubate ideas during your writing process

 

Make incubation time as sacred as your writing time.

I have planned as well as unplanned incubation time, and I will share my favourites in each category below.

 

Planned Incubation time for story writing

 

Setting aside time for incubating your ideas every day is very useful to generate new ideas, hash the old ones, and keep or discard what is or is not useful.

Over the years, I’ve looked at three different ways to incorporate planned incubation time into my writing practice.

As you read through these activities, think about how you can incorporate one or more of them into your day seamlessly and with little effort so that it does not become a burden but fuel to charge your writing day.

 

1.    Journaling 

 

I’ve been practicing journaling first thing every morning for many years. It centers me and puts me in a positive frame of mind for the entire day.

Stream of consciousness writing, a great way to journal your thoughts, helps you to put your fears, anxieties, worries, onto the page to free your mind to think about your life, work, happiness, and all the other things that you have planned for the day.

Journaling is also a good way to write down your thoughts about the scene that’s bothering you and come out with ideas to solve them. Ask some questions and write down 25 answers that come to mind. Some of them may seem whacky but some of them could be gold.

I also use this method to come up with titles for my books or conflicts in scenes.

Sometimes, writing out the troublesome scene by hand in your journal will bring out unexpected nuances of the scene that you never thought possible.

Do this first thing as soon as you wake up for the most positive and magical results.

 

2. Reading 

 

Reading fiction or non-fiction is another go-to for getting great ideas for your story.

Reading provides fodder for thought. Sometimes a scene in the book you’re reading may trigger a completely tangential thought, though completely unrelated, to the problem you’re facing in your own book.

Reading improves language and vocabulary.

Have you ever struggled with the right word for a gesture or action?

Have you wanted to find that word that’s usually at the tip of your tongue but you can’t seem to find it now?

Reading helps with those kinds of situations. 

Reading helps great sentences flow easily in your writing too.

Try reading every day to see vast improvements in your writing.

 

3.    Routine / Mundane tasks 

 

When I’m cooking or folding the laundry, it’s usually a great time to think of the scene that I’m working on.

Making this a habit on a daily basis will make sure you are never short of ideas when you sit down to write.

 

Unplanned Incubation time for story writing

 

These are some ways to include unplanned incubation time into your day.

These practices are also very useful in idea generation and re-generation.

 

1.    Watching movies

 

Movies are a great source of inspiration for stories.

They are a source of entertainment as well as learning. Watching movies can often get you out of a stuck spot or a writer’s block.

Movies are well-structured and can be a great guide to how to structure your story.

If you enjoy a movie so much that you’d love to re-watch it, try to figure out why?

Is it because it has wonderful characters, action, or storyline?

What appeals to you in any movie can be brought forth into your own stories.

I have used movies to get me out of stuck places many times.

Just watching the hero take action when he has to woo a girl or when he is down in the dumps can trigger an idea to use for your book.

Watching a movie is one of my favourite incubation techniques and I often lean towards it after finishing the first draft or if I’m really stuck.

 

2.    Brainstorming

 

Brainstorming is when you run your ideas by another friend or anybody who loves discussing stories.

It is best to indulge in this activity before you start writing so that you can nip an idea in the bud if you decide that you don’t have enough of an idea to build an entire plot.

Or, in the middle of a story, if you feel stuck.

You can lay out the outline of the story as you brainstorm.

This helps to identify gaps or holes in the story that had never occurred to you.

I use this process to run the story idea by someone before I start writing, especially if I’m not sure if the idea is a good one. Or if I think the idea is good but I just want to know what others think.

This is a great way to get unstuck, generate new ideas, or hash out existing ones to give a great boost to your story idea.

 

3.    Making lists

 

This is my favourite idea when most things have failed.

While I like to brainstorm and run ideas by other trusted friends,  I do enjoy making lists to get all the possibilities that are inside my head into a list form.

That way everything is right in front of me and gives me great ideas to bounce off of.

 

4.    Going for walks

 

Going for a walk can help unclog certain stuck viewpoints in the story.

There is something about an unstructured physical activity like walking that can unclear some of the brain fog.

 

5.    People Watching

 

Coffee shops, malls, parks are great for people watching.

There are fun things waiting to be discovered as you watch people go about their business and allow you to watch them in peace.

Overheard snippets of conversations, a multitude of facial expressions and body language, and pure imagination can stir up a whole set of new ideas for your brain.

 

6.    Asking a question

 

If a problematic story situation has been troubling me for a long time, I like to ask a question about it before going to bed.

And I usually find that the answer seems to miraculously appear out of nowhere the next day.

It could come from a new idea that occurs to me, or a conversation I’m having with someone, or it could be something random.

 If you’re having a story dilemma, ask a question about what should occur in the story, and keep your eyes and ears open to receive an answer.

 

Summary

 

To sum up, a daily routine that includes one or several of these incubation techniques takes care of most writing problems like not knowing what to write, not having an idea, or having a problem that keeps you stuck.

These incubation techniques are wonderful ways to get your creative juices flowing and to propel you to finish that draft you’re working on.

I hope you enjoyed learning about them.

Using them will really transform your writing process and make daily writing a productive and satisfying experience.

 

Book Recommendations for you:

 

Get rid of debilitating behaviors that will sabotage your writing practice:

Deep Work BUY FROM AMAZON.IN | AMAZON.COM

 

A book that will give you great tips on the right attitude and practices that will help in producing better outputs:

The Mental Game Of Writing BUY FROM AMAZON.IN | AMAZON.COM

 

A habit developed the right way goes a long way in achieving a lot more than you can imagine:

Atomic Habits BUY FROM AMAZON.IN | AMAZON.COM

 

You can find all my books here at BOOKS.

 

I’d love to hear if you found this article useful!

You can write to me at sudha@sudhanair.com

 

 

The post DEVELOP A CONSISTENT WRITING ROUTINE – PART 3 appeared first on SUDHA NAIR.

A consistent writing routine may take some time and patience to develop but once you have a system that works for you, you’ll see that it requires very little effort to sustain.

This is Part 2 of the daily writing practice series.

We all have good writing days and bad writing days but what you’re about to discover is that the better equipped you are at handling whatever kind of writing day you’re having, the better you become at converting any day into a productive writing day.

To develop a consistent writing routine, there are a few things you need to be aware of, a few best practices to be kept in mind, and the determination to make the best of what you have.

A so-so writing day can become a good writing day with very few changes in your lifestyle and the way you approach your day.

That’s what we’re here to talk about.

In Part 1, we talked about finding a personal word count target.

If you haven’t read that yet, please read it and come back. It’s very important to determine your personal word target first.

While having a daily word count target is all well and good, how do you stop procrastinating?

How do you ensure that you sit to write in the first place and get to finish your goals in the stipulated time that you have every day?

Read on to find out.

 

How to develop a consistent writing routine – Part 2

This post contains links to the Amazon affiliate program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Make time for writing every day

 

First and foremost, it’s important to set aside a writing time every day.

Apart from the word count, this is the second-most important decision a writer will ever make.

How does a set writing time help?

Imagine if you postponed writing to the end of the day when you’d finished all the work around the home or office. Then, you got tired by the end of the day and decided to put off writing. And then, you repeated that on a loop every single day.

Guess what would happen?

You’d never get any writing done!

How about making writing as important as brushing your teeth, or exercising, or taking a shower every day?

How about scheduling a time in a day when you know you will have some time to set aside just for writing?

Some writers are early birds and finish their writing first thing in the morning before their family wakes up. Other writers are night owls. Whatever time works best for you is your ideal writing time.

Remember, the more you put off writing well before the day draws to a close, the less likely you are to get to it at all.

Author James Scott Bell wrote 350 words every day first thing as soon as he woke up so that he had a good head-start on his daily quota very early in the day. Isn’t that a great way to kickstart your day?

While it’s great to have time set aside for writing, what if you’re editing the previous day’s work or an hour goes by as you select a song playlist or browse the internet to find a synonym for the word “walk” that’s not really a walk but more like an amble?

You get the point.

 

Writing time is sacred time.

 

It is meant to be free of distractions, going over previous work, mulling over a plot twist, or daydreaming.

So, how do you use this time wisely?

Here’s where the next step of my process comes in handy.

 

Time your writing session

 

Use a timer.

A timer is a powerful tool, even if you don’t believe it to be true, to get you moving as fast as possible. Like the ticking clock.

Heard of the story of the mother who got her child to practice math for 5 minutes every day by keeping a timer, and slowly, increasing the timer by a few minutes every day, until her child was able to sit for an hour without realizing it.

The timer is your friend for a consistent writing routine.

It creates a sense of urgency and goads you to finish the task you have undertaken.

If you’ve given yourself an hour every day to write, and 500 words to write in that hour, a ticking timer can be your best friend. It empowers you to make the most of your time.

 

The Pomodoro Technique for writing practice

 

The Pomodoro technique of time management uses the timer for alternating work times and break times to maximize focus and productivity.

In the Pomodoro technique, you set the timer to alternate between 25 minutes of work, and 5 minutes of break after that.

A block of four Pomodoros gives you 2 hours of work time. For every 25 minutes of put-your-head-down work, you get 5 minutes to get up, stretch, get a glass of water, and maybe just gaze at the sky for a few moments, before you get back to work.

While breaks may not seem important but rather counter-intuitive to getting more writing done, the opposite is actually true.

A break refreshes the brain and gives you a physical break from the monotony of typing. It also helps prevent injuries to your wrists, neck, and back, and so must never be ignored.

Take breaks in your writing.

Let’s discuss another important question that I’ve seen a lot of writers have.

 

How much time to allocate to your writing practice?

 

Time allocation.

Some of you may have a big chunk of time that you can set aside. Some of you may have only small chunks.

To use the chunk that you have to the fullest advantage, learn how to manage those chunks effectively.

I like bigger chunks of time. An hour at least.

 

It is important to give it time to get into the writing headspace.

 

Too short a writing time may feel like a total waste of energy.

Because it takes the body and the brain a few minutes to get into any activity or task to be able to get into a flow to produce work effectively.

 

Stop multitasking during your writing practice

 

Productivity and time management expert, Cal Newport, talks of engaging in singular tasks mindfully and avoiding multitasking. Switching tasks too often is known to kill productivity. That is why interruptions are also a no-no.

When you switch from your email to your writing, then to internet browsing, you are effectively cutting off the brain from focussing on a particular task to provide the maximum output.

It’s a good practice to log off from all social media, emails, and the internet during your writing time.

 

Allow the brain to focus on the task at hand.

 

Any research or words that need to be found on the internet can be done later. Keep a placeholder to identify the things you’ll need to find out after your writing time is up. For now, just drop an “x” to remind you that you will dig up that missing information later.

It would also be prudent to avoid surfing or bingeing on social media before your writing for the day is finished.

I can’t emphasize this enough.

There’s something about the wiring in our brain that makes external news warp the images and ideas that we’ve built inside our brains.

It interferes with getting into your writing day with the fresh energy and focus that we’ve reserved for it that day.

So, make writing a priority over social media, news, and emails.

 

Block your writing time

 

The last important point I want to make about writing time is to keep it the same time every day.

Your writing time is a personal time that must be calendar-blocked or scheduled.

It has to be a routine you adhere to every day.

If you have a calendar, mark your writing days with X-es and try not to leave more than one empty block between two X-es.

The caveat is when you have days when there are emergencies, you’re traveling, or have guests. Then, of course, that time cannot hold.

Don’t punish yourself for not holding to your time. Remember to push on at a later time, or get back to your routine tomorrow, or at the earliest possible time.

 

Never fret over lost time. Never try to make it up tomorrow. Always, start fresh!

 

We’re all human. It’s okay to NOT sweat the “not writing”.

As long as you’re not procrastinating because you’re bored or lazy or just don’t feel like it, it’s best to let it go.

Other ways of scheduling writing days could be by writing 5 days a week and keeping the weekends off, or by writing only on the weekends, or by scheduling some writing days every month.

Keeping to your schedules as much as possible, and using a timer to motivate you, provide the best arsenal for daily writing.

 

My personal writing hacks

 

As of now, I write every day. Unless I have an emergency, or I don’t have a project going on at the moment, or I’m taking a short break, I don’t take a writing break.

This is my personal writing hack, and I’ve seen great results by using this.

My personal writing time is for about 2 hours. My timer is set for 30-5-30-5-30-5-30. That gives me four blocks of time. I write for 30 minutes and rest for 5 minutes after. So, it usually takes about 2 hours 15 minutes to get done with my morning writing.

Since my current word count goal is only 1000 words, I only have a 250-word goal every 30 minutes. But most times, I find that I can cross 500 words within half an hour, which motivates me to push on through the next few Pomodoro blocks to get more words on the page.

After my entire writing session is over, I go back and check my words and make any corrections as required, but I never sacrifice my word count goal to edit my work.

If I haven’t finished 1000 words, and my time for the writing is almost up, I push on to get the words on the page before I edit.

 

You only have so many hours a day, so make it count.

 

Book Recommendations for you:

 

Get rid of debilitating behaviors that will sabotage your writing practice:

Deep Work BUY FROM AMAZON.IN | AMAZON.COM

 

A book that will give you great tips on the right attitude and practices that will help in producing better outputs:

The Mental Game Of Writing BUY FROM AMAZON.IN | AMAZON.COM

 

A habit developed the right way goes a long way in achieving a lot more than you can imagine:

Atomic Habits BUY FROM AMAZON.IN | AMAZON.COM

 

 

What are your best writing times and places? I’d love to hear about them!

You can email me at sudha@sudhanair.com

 

 

The post DEVELOP A CONSISTENT WRITING ROUTINE – PART 2 appeared first on SUDHA NAIR.

Several years ago, I struggled with building a consistent writing routine. Every time I’d sit down to write, I’d either not have the words, or spend too much time on every sentence that I wrote. There came a time when my writing was painfully slow and frustrating.

I did not feel like writing because it began to feel like a chore. I did not have a daily writing routine. There was no routine to speak of and very little motivation to continue.

If this feels like what you’re going through, read on.

I began to seek out ways to build a daily productive writing routine so that my writing habit would stick and not push me off the track.

“Don’t give up. I don’t think any other advice works. Writing is one of those things where you just have to do it. There will be far more people to discourage you than to encourage you. The time never comes to you, the inspiration doesn’t come to you. You just sit down and do it.” – James Lee Burke

Ever wanted to write consistently and make it a daily practice?

Author Isaac Asimov was a prolific writer who wrote hundreds of books in his lifetime.

Well-known writer, James Scott Bell in his daily practice called Nifty 350, writes 350 words first thing every morning before anything else, and has produced a lot of work in all his years of writing and still continues.

How were these writers able to achieve such amazing goals?

When I decided I wanted better goals and to write consistently, I used several methods to make my daily writing practice stick.

Honing it to make the most of my time, energy, and creativity, to produce results, I realized I needed more than just one approach to tackle it.

What I discovered was a three-pronged approach to make a writing habit stick.

I’ve broken it down into a three-part series where I lay down the step-by-step process that I used to create an effective, sustainable, and productive daily writing routine and practice.

 

This is Part 1 of the daily writing practice series.

 

How to develop a consistent writing routine – Part 1

This post contains links to the Amazon affiliate program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Benefits of daily writing practice

 

Before we dive into the actual process, let’s take a moment to identify the benefits of daily writing practice.

What are the benefits that I’m talking about?

Why not just write when you feel like it?

Why not wait for the muse to show up before you show up at the writing desk?

Have you spent months agonizing over a project that you wanted to start and could never get off the ground?

Has it been painful to see several unfinished manuscripts lying around that have never seen the light of day?

If you answered yes to any or all of the above questions, then you know what I’m talking about.

A daily writing practice

Builds disciplineHelps a writer produce more contentProvides a sense of accomplishmentMakes one a prolific writerProvides a sense of overall well-being

A prolific writer feels confident, self-assured, productive, and gainfully engaged in what she does best – being creative.

A writer writes…

In real life, this aspirational goal seems pretty elusive.

But NOT if we use a system that gives us the most value in the least amount of time and with ease.

While these processes worked for me, and I’m sure it will work for a lot of you, you have to determine which parameters to tweak and where you are in your writing journey to derive the maximum benefit from this outline of thoughts and ideas.

Use some of the tips that I’ve provided to test and see if it works for you.

Ready?

 

Create a comfortable daily word count

 

The first step to creating an effective daily writing practice is to have a comfortable daily word count.

Let me repeat that again.

You start with a comfortable daily word count.

And in a moment, you’ll know why a comfortable count is of the utmost importance. To me, it comes first in this series of writing hacks.

My personal journey with writing began with writing short stories of 1500 words based on a monthly prompt.

It isn’t easy for a beginner writer to create a short story of 1500 words every month. Of course, when I had just started out, I struggled with the same issues, barely managing to finish the 1500-word story by the end of the month.

Sometimes, I wrote for other prompts, but the small goals always kept holding me back to shorter and more inconsistent writing.

If you’re currently using such haphazard writing practices, it can cause several pitfalls:

Inconsistent daily writing – If you’re barely writing any new words every day, or spending most of your time perfecting the story by adding or deleting words, then you haven’t gained much over the course of every month.No planning and low targets – Not planning for higher word count targets or more stories, will lead to low output and low drive to produce more work.Lack of motivation – If you couldn’t write a story that month, you’d be disheartened and lack the motivation to do anything else.
And, all of this creates a cycle of failure.

So, when I decided to participate in Nanowrimo a few years later, I realized I had suddenly upped my word count goal by a huge scale.

Instead of writing 1500 words a month, my target was to write 1667 words a day.

If you haven’t heard of Nanowrimo, it stands for National Novel Writing Month, where you write 50,000 words in November. Broken down into a daily word count, it works out to 1667 words per day.

It helped to outline the story first before writing a single word and to keep writing without deleting a written word as I pushed on day after day to achieve that goal of 50,000 words that month.

But soon, the struggle got real.

1667 words a day was not an easy personal target on a daily basis.

Even though I finished the challenge that year, it was a very high daily target for me to achieve consistently.

I had to find a comfortable personal target for myself.

I emphasize the word personal, because it is very personal.

A word count target is highly personal.

 

Take the right action towards your daily writing practice

 

Find a PERSONAL daily word count target.

Having a low target like 350 or 500 words to begin with, gives you the confidence and motivation to finish the goal every single day.

We are talking about personal comfort. If it’s only 100 words a day, or a single sentence, so be it!

You have to find out what works specifically for you.

If you find that a target is too easily achievable, then increase it. If it’s too much, scale it down.

James Scott Bell talks about finding a comfortable word count and then adding 10% as your daily target so you’re a little above your comfort zone.

Test it out for a few days to see if it works.

And if it does, stick with it day after day.

Consistency is more important than a word count target.

Because consistency is what creates RESULTS.

Imagine writing 100 words per day for the next 365 days. You’d finish a novella of 36,500 words at that rate.

Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

From not having a daily word count at all, I started with a low target of 500 words per day.

After several months, I went up to 1000 words per day.

Some days, I found that I could sail past the target easily, even doubling it at times when I was in the flow. Other days I teetered around 600-800 words or so. Then, all I had to do was push myself through the last leg of a few 100 words more but that seemed doable.

This target was not achieved in a day. Plus, I still wasn’t able to stay consistent.

That’s when I began to see that a word count target alone was insufficient to keep up this practice on a daily basis.

That’s why another step was needed to be layered on top of this process to make it a successful consistent daily writing practice, which

I’ll get to in the next post.

 

Practice, practice, practice to improve your writing goals

 

If you want to find your comfortable daily word count target, pick any number and stick to it for at least 21 days.

If it seems rather too easy or tends to stress you out every time you sit to write, you’ll know that your target is not completely right for you and needs to change.

After you’ve stuck with your target for a few months/years, it would be a good idea to test your target and see if you can increase it comfortably.

A great practice is a sustainable one.

 

Book Recommendations for you:

 

Get rid of debilitating behaviors that will sabotage your writing practice:

Deep Work BUY FROM AMAZON.IN | AMAZON.COM

 

A book that will give you great tips on the right attitude and practices that will help in producing better outputs:

The Mental Game Of Writing BUY FROM AMAZON.IN | AMAZON.COM

 

A habit developed the right way goes a long way in achieving a lot more than you can imagine:

Atomic Habits BUY FROM AMAZON.IN | AMAZON.COM

 

 

Do you want to write every day and make it a sustainable practice? I’d love to hear what is working or not working for you!

You can reach me at sudha@sudhanair.com

 

You can find all my books here at BOOKS.

 

 

The post DEVELOP A CONSISTENT WRITING ROUTINE – PART 1 appeared first on SUDHA NAIR.

Several years ago, I struggled with writing consistently. Every time I’d sit down to write, I’d either not have the words, or spend too much time on every sentence that I wrote. There came a time when my writing was painfully slow and frustrating.

I did not feel like writing because it began to feel like a chore. I did not have a daily writing routine. There was no routine to speak of and very little motivation to continue.

If this feels like what you’re going through, read on.

I began to seek out ways to build a daily productive writing routine so that my writing habit would stick and not push me off the track.

“Don’t give up. I don’t think any other advice works. Writing is one of those things where you just have to do it. There will be far more people to discourage you than to encourage you. The time never comes to you, the inspiration doesn’t come to you. You just sit down and do it.” – James Lee Burke

Ever wanted to write consistently and make it a daily practice?

Author Isaac Asimov was a prolific writer who wrote hundreds of books in his lifetime.

Well-known writer, James Scott Bell in his daily practice called Nifty 350, writes 350 words first thing every morning before anything else, and has produced a lot of work in all his years of writing and still continues.

How were these writers able to achieve such amazing goals?

When I decided I wanted better goals and to write consistently, I used several methods to make my daily writing practice stick.

Honing it to make the most of my time, energy, and creativity, to produce results, I realized I needed more than just one approach to tackle it.

What I discovered was a three-pronged approach to make a writing habit stick.

I’ve broken it down into a three-part series where I lay down the step-by-step process that I used to create an effective, sustainable, and productive daily writing routine and practice.

 

 

Benefits of daily writing practice

 

Before we dive into the actual process, let’s take a moment to identify the benefits of daily writing practice.

What are the benefits that I’m talking about?

Why not just write when you feel like it?

Why not wait for the muse to show up before you show up at the writing desk?

Have you spent months agonizing over a project that you wanted to start and could never get off the ground?

Has it been painful to see several unfinished manuscripts lying around that have never seen the light of day?

If you answered yes to any or all of the above questions, then you know what I’m talking about.

A daily writing practice

Builds disciplineHelps a writer produce more contentProvides a sense of accomplishmentMakes one a prolific writerProvides a sense of overall well-being

A prolific writer feels confident, self-assured, productive, and gainfully engaged in what she does best – being creative.

A writer writes…

In real life, this aspirational goal seems pretty elusive.

But NOT if we use a system that gives us the most value in the least amount of time and with ease.

While these processes worked for me, and I’m sure it will work for a lot of you, you have to determine which parameters to tweak and where you are in your writing journey to derive the maximum benefit from this outline of thoughts and ideas.

Use some of the tips that I’ve provided to test and see if it works for you.

Ready?

 

Create a comfortable daily word count

 

The first step to creating an effective daily writing practice is to have a comfortable daily word count.

Let me repeat that again.

You start with a comfortable daily word count.

And in a moment, you’ll know why a comfortable count is of the utmost importance. To me, it comes first in this series of writing hacks.

My personal journey with writing began with writing short stories of 1500 words based on a monthly prompt.

It isn’t easy for a beginner writer to create a short story of 1500 words every month. Of course, when I had just started out, I struggled with the same issues, barely managing to finish the 1500-word story by the end of the month.

Sometimes, I wrote for other prompts, but the small goals always kept holding me back to shorter and more inconsistent writing.

If you’re currently using such haphazard writing practices, it can cause several pitfalls:

Inconsistent daily writing – If you’re barely writing any new words every day, or spending most of your time perfecting the story by adding or deleting words, then you haven’t gained much over the course of every month.No planning and low targets – Not planning for higher word count targets or more stories, will lead to low output and low drive to produce more work.Lack of motivation – If you couldn’t write a story that month, you’d be disheartened and lack the motivation to do anything else.
And, all of this creates a cycle of failure.

So, when I decided to participate in Nanowrimo a few years later, I realized I had suddenly upped my word count goal by a huge scale.

Instead of writing 1500 words a month, my target was to write 1667 words a day.

If you haven’t heard of Nanowrimo, it stands for National Novel Writing Month, where you write 50,000 words in November. Broken down into a daily word count, it works out to 1667 words per day.

It helped to outline the story first before writing a single word and to keep writing without deleting a written word as I pushed on day after day to achieve that goal of 50,000 words that month.

But soon, the struggle got real.

1667 words a day was not an easy personal target on a daily basis.

Even though I finished the challenge that year, it was a very high daily target for me to achieve consistently.

I had to find a comfortable personal target for myself.

I emphasize the word personal, because it is very personal.

A word count target is highly personal.

 

Take the right action towards your daily writing practice

 

Find a PERSONAL daily word count target.

Having a low target like 350 or 500 words to begin with, gives you the confidence and motivation to finish the goal every single day.

We are talking about personal comfort. If it’s only 100 words a day, or a single sentence, so be it!

You have to find out what works specifically for you.

If you find that a target is too easily achievable, then increase it. If it’s too much, scale it down.

James Scott Bell talks about finding a comfortable word count and then adding 10% as your daily target so you’re a little above your comfort zone.

Test it out for a few days to see if it works.

And if it does, stick with it day after day.

Consistency is more important than a word count target.

Because consistency is what creates RESULTS.

Imagine writing 100 words per day for the next 365 days. You’d finish a novella of 36,500 words at that rate.

Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

From not having a daily word count at all, I started with a low target of 500 words per day.

After several months, I went up to 1000 words per day.

Some days, I found that I could sail past the target easily, even doubling it at times when I was in the flow. Other days I teetered around 600-800 words or so. Then, all I had to do was push myself through the last leg of a few 100 words more but that seemed doable.

This target was not achieved in a day. Plus, I still wasn’t able to stay consistent.

That’s when I began to see that a word count target alone was insufficient to keep up this practice on a daily basis.

That’s why another step was needed to be layered on top of this process to make it a successful consistent daily writing practice, which

I’ll get to in the next post.

 

Practice, practice, practice to improve your writing goals

 

If you want to find your comfortable daily word count target, pick any number and stick to it for at least 21 days.

If it seems rather too easy or tends to stress you out every time you sit to write, you’ll know that your target is not completely right for you and needs to change.

After you’ve stuck with your target for a few months/years, it would be a good idea to test your target and see if you can increase it comfortably.

A great practice is a sustainable one.

Do you want to write every day and make it a sustainable practice? I’d love to hear what is working or not working for you!

You can reach me at sudha@sudhanair.com

 

You can find all my books here at BOOKS.

 

 

The post HOW TO BUILD A GREAT WRITING ROUTINE – PART 1 appeared first on SUDHA NAIR.